Until recently, Internet connectivity was restricted to hard-wired connections to the Internet cloud. With the advent of stronger 2.4 Ghz antennae it became more practical to administer wireless connections to computers that would eventually connect back to the Internet cloud. As the speed of the wireless equipment increased, it became more cost effective to provide wireless connections to the user than cabling. As a result, attempts were made to replace wired Wide-area networks (WANs) with high-speed wireless connections.
Presently, wireless equipment only offers bridging solutions. These wireless bridges contain either one or two wireless cards, depending on manufacturer, and one wired connection. In some cases there are two wireless cards and one wired connection. However, in this rapidly expanding telecommunications landscape, it may prove necessary to have 3 or 4 wireless connections and 3 or 4 wired connections. Although a bridge is a good way to connect two or three Local-area networks (LANs) together, the overhead of bridging will not function for an extensive WAN because current routing logic has a theoretical breakdown at 3 to 5 bridges. As a result, present day 2.4 Ghz wireless connection points provide bridging solutions that greatly restrict the ability of the user to place wireless equipment in a wide area network. 2.4 Ghz wireless equipment is designed to create hubbed LANs and to bridge together two or more small LANs. It was not designed to work in a public domain WAN environment.
Additionally, current wireless connections were designed for indoor use and security is only associated with the network name. Alternatively, the system may be held closed through the use of Media access control (MAC) addressing. Despite the wireless function, such LAN solutions assumed that the connections back to the wireless access point were relatively few in number and that the connections were somewhat stationary. As a result, the MAC filtering is housed resident on the access connection point. The connection point typically requires rebooting before the new access list may take effect. In addition, there are a finite number of MAC addresses that may be placed on the connection point. This effectively limits the number of roaming customers that may be added to the system. Each time a new member is added, every connection point in the network must be updated and rebooted.
In order to manage a wireless connection point, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) became the standard method for data transfer. To modify the MAC filter, the administrative password for the access connection point is passed along the network. This password is passed in clear text. Without secure shell connections this clear text message becomes easy to intercept for anyone connected to the WAN. Once the administrative password is breached the whole system becomes compromised. Earlier systems prevented this by providing only those within the organization the network name. Without the network name, wireless cards will not connect with the connection point. In a public domain environment the network name will be common to all those that use the service, which makes unauthorized access relatively simple.
There is a need for a piece of wireless equipment that can be used to effectively connect a large WAN. There is also an existing need for a wireless provisioning device that provides network routing at the source and security measures through the network. There is an additional need for 2.4 Ghz wireless connection points that provide bridging solutions that afford the user the ability to place wireless equipment in a wide area network. There is yet another existing need for wireless connections designed for outdoor use and flexible security. Additionally, there remains a need for a system that can accommodate multiple connections back to the wireless access point without requiring rebooting before the new roaming members can be added to the system.